Our Beautiful
Washington, D.C.
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Washington (D.C.) used to be a separate city within the larger District of Columbia, along with other municipalities like Georgetown and Alexandria. There were also a few smaller towns within the District (but outside the city limits) in what was then-called "Washington County."
The southern portion of the District was returned to Virginia in 1846, and became the present-day City of Alexandria and Arlington County. In 1871, Congress revoked the individual charters of the City of Washington and Georgetown, and created a new government for the entire District of Columbia.
Even though it no longer had its own government, Washington still continued to exist as a place. As the city grew over the next few decades, the Washington street grid was extended beyond the old city limits and the individual towns within the District eventually became city neighborhoods. As a result, the entire city is referred to as "Washington, D.C."
If you're interested, you can find Florida Avenue on the map, which used to be the northern boundary of the old City of Washington. Historians now call that original area the "L'Enfant City" or the "Old City." (Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,...)
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